PUZZLE PARLEY
  • Registration 2024
  • Past Parleys
  • Puzzle Exchange
  • Puzzle Makers
  • About Us
Picture
Puzzle Detail Baffler Puzzles Chris Yates

About the Parleys

In the early 1990s relatively few craftspeople were cutting wooden jigsaw puzzles, and most were working in isolation. Rachel Page (Pagey) Elliott decided it was time to break down those barriers. She came up with the inspired idea of a "Puzzle Parley," a gathering together of jigsaw puzzle cutters to share ideas and experiences. She proposed this concept to Bob Armstrong and recruited him as organizer. Pagey and Bob, along with Debby Greeley (Pagey's sister) and Anne Williams, were the forces behind the first Parley in 1994. Below you will find documentation on the past Puzzle Parleys. You can use the side bar to navigate to specific Past Parleys.

Puzzle Detail image from Jardin Puzzles by Melinda Shebell
Puzzle Detail Jardin Puzzles Melinda Shebell

The Beginning - Concord, MA 1994

9/12/1994

0 Comments

 
Picture
Detail of Pagemark puzzle cut by Pagey Elliott
Debby Greeley hosted the first Puzzle Parley on Saturday September 10, 1994 at her home in Concord, Massachusetts. Twenty-two puzzlers made the trek to this historic town, including 13 from New England, 6 from the NY-PA area, 2 Midwesterners, and Chuck Small, all the way from California. Organizer Bob Armstrong was absent, recovering in a Maine hospital from a 70-foot fall from a hiking trail. Bob's son Conrad substituted for him in helping Pagey Elliott chair the meeting.

The formal part of the meeting was a two-hour morning discussion of the ins and outs of cutting wooden puzzles. Jim Ayer talked about his innovative method of cutting with a computer controlled highly pressurized water jet. Anne Williams offered a brief analysis of which wooden jigsaws are most desirable to collectors. Anne also recorded the proceedings so Bob could view them later, thanks to a video camera on loan from Betty (aka Liz) Platais, Pagey's oldest daughter.
After the lunch that Debby served, the group continued to exchange ideas informally, while checking out the hand-cut puzzles that many had brought to display or sell. Quite a few puzzles changed hands before everyone departed later that afternoon.
​
The video of the Parley's proceedings is now in the permanent collection of the Strong Museum Library in Rochester, NY.
Detail of wooden puzzle, Spilsbury Puzzle
Detail from Spilsbury puzzle
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Past Parleys

    All
    1994 - 1st Concord
    1996 - 2nd Lexington
    1997 - 3rd Worcester
    1999 - 4th NYC
    2000 - 5th Katonah
    2002 - 6th NYC
    2004 - 7th Concord
    2007 - 8th San Fran
    2008 - 9th Sturbridge
    2010 - 10th Salem
    2012 - 11th Salem
    2014 - 12th Salem
    2016 - 13th Salem
    2018 - 14th Rochester
    2021 - 15th Virtual
    2022 - 16th Sturbridge

    RSS Feed

Follow Us!

Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram
For general information or questions, please contact us at info@puzzleparley.org. 
Website managed by Janell Amely.​
Picture
Copyright © 2022 All rights reserved
  • Registration 2024
  • Past Parleys
  • Puzzle Exchange
  • Puzzle Makers
  • About Us